NBA coaching carousel: Will Weaver is the NBA’s best-kept secret

Weaver’s system

How Weaver has been so successful in his two years as a head coach – in two different hemispheres is with his defense. This past NBL season the Kings were by far the best defensive team leading the league in defensive rating (3.9 better than the second-best defensively rated team).

Weaver’s bread and butter comes from turning defense into offense – the brand of basketball he runs is similar to the Warriors (which Bogut obviously influences) and Kenny Atkinson’s Nets.

It was a mixture of switching and drop coverage, having multiple rangy and athletic wings while the bigs sat in the paint worked for the regular season — leading fast break opportunities for the Kings.

Will Weaver has learned from the Brooklyn Nets analytics-based offense with Weaver’s Kings leading the league in 3-point attempts and top three in free throws attempted during the regular season. The offense wasn’t perfect, being only ranked second-last in offensive rating (only 2.5 off being fifth).

Despite that, it’s an NBA-ready offense with handoffs, cuts, and illegal screens from Bogut. By adding NBA talent and better shooting it would only amplify the current sets being used down under.

This all pay’s off into being some of the most beautiful basketball you’ll watch and is extremely effective, as Daryl Morey’s philosophy of layups, free throws, and 3’s is the way you make a team successful. As we all know the Morey-led Houston Rockets haven’t been championship successful, and Weaver hasn’t either, so what does Weaver possibly have to change?